The Reason is You
by gingerr1
Summary: Eli and Grace have been fighting their feelings for far too long, but can they finally open up to each other?
1. Chapter 1

_Eli is sitting on his bed, wearing boxer shorts and smoking a cigarette. A bit of ash falls onto his stomach and he plucks it away with his other hand. His eyes wander around his room. Pictures of ex girlfriends are plastered on his wall with little messages written by them. He keeps meaning to take them down, but every once in a while he finds himself drawn to them and it makes him horny. Many a night he has pleasured himself while looking at those photos. He figures he could get a girlfriend but why bother when he can get the benefits just by looking at some old photos. But for some reason tonight he's just not in the mood and that's why he lets his eyes continue to wander. They quickly pass over the door but go back when he hears a knock at the door. _

_Grace slowly opens the door and shuts it behind her. She is wearing baby blue tracksuit pants and a white sweatshirt covered with pink butterflies. Her hair has been tied into two plaits. Eli notices them and smirks. Grace blushes. _

_"I let Zoe play with my hair. Don't laugh."_

_Eli feigns ignorance and shrugs his shoulders._

_"What are you talking about? I can't see anything funny."_

_Grace grabs a tshirt from the floor and throws it at Eli. Eli ducks and laughs. _

_"Oh, I'm so scared of being hit by a tshirt..."_

_Grace growls and picks up a shoe. Eli surrendours and raises his hands. _

_"Alright, alright. I'll stop laughing...Pippi Long-stockings." _

_Grace throws the shoe and misses Eli by an inch. Eli jumps off the bed and grabs Grace in a big bear hug. Grace stands there in shock and doesn't know what to do. _

_B/W Grace: Eli is hugging me? What the hell?!_

_Eli suddenly stops hugging Grace and steps back. _

_"Er, sorry...I'll stop now."_

_Grace looks down at her feet and bites her lip. Eli raises his arm and attempts to pat her shoulder. _

_Stepping back closer to the door, Grace stutters._

_"I might go to bed..."_

_"Hey, Grace....wait."_

_Eli tips his head to his bed and beckons her to sit down. Looking at Eli and then the bed, Grace slowly walks to the bed and sits down. She looks around the room and notices the photos of Elis ex girlfriends. Eli notices and groans internally. _

_"I've bee meanin' to take those down..." he murmurs. _

_"Why?"_

_Eli looks at the photos and looks at Grace. _

_"I dunno. Just time to move on, I guess."_

_"Oh, there's someone else?"_

_"No, no...no way. Too much goin' on with school and the band. I need to focus."_

_B/W Grace: I knew he would never be interested. I am such an idiot. _

_"Oh right. I should leave you alone then. Give you space to work..."_

_Eli rushes over to the bed and moves his guitar onto the floor. he puts on the tshirt that Grace had thrown at him and he then sits down next to her. _

_"I can space a few minutes, Grace."_

_Grace smiles and pokes his arm. _

_"No major breakthrough on a new song?"_

_Eli laughs. _

_"I need some inspiration...Hey, maybe I should write a song about Pippi and her plaits. How she uses her hair to seduce men."_

_Grace laughs and pokes him again._

_"Smart ass."_

_Eli pokes her back and flashes her a smile. They share a look for a moment and Grace starts to breathe heavily. _

_"Grace..."_

_"Yeah?"_

_Eli coughs and looks away. _

_"I...uh...."_

_"You what?"_

_Eli leans in closely to Grace and pushes a strand of her hair behind her ear. WIthout thinking, Grace leans in and kisses Eli on the mouth. Stunned, Eli searches her face for a moment and then kisses her back. _

_B/W Grace: I've always dreamt of something like this happening. But I never thought that a guy like him would ever look at me. I mean, come on, look at me!_

_Eli moves his arm behind Grace and lets it go underneath her top. He strokes her back and Grace shudders. Eli jolts back and looks at her. _

_"Sorry...."_

_"What?"_

_"I shouldn't have.."_

_"What?"_

_Eli removes his hand from her back and gets up off the bed._

_"We shouldn't be doin' this."_

_"Oh..." Grace replies and looks down at her thighs. _

_"Right...we shouldn't," she mumbles. _

_Eli opens his door and looks away. _

_"I guess I should go...early morning and all that..." she stutters and gets off the bed. _

_"Grace. I'm sorry...I just don't think of..."_

_"You just don't think of me in that way, right. Why would you?" Grace whispers. _

_"No...Um, yeah..." Elii mumbles as he runs a hand through his hair. _

_Grace starts to leave the room and Eli grabs her arm. _

_"I do, Grace. I do think of you like that. It's just..."_

_Grace looks over at the photos of his ex girlfriends. Eli follows her gaze and groans internally._

_"It's just that you can have any girl and why would you want a girl who looks like Pippi Long-stockings, right?" _

_Grace slams the door on her way out and Eli stands there, staring at the back of the door. _

_Chapter two_

_The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts down the hallway as toast pops out of the toaster. The newspaper covers the kitchen table and a fresh jug of orange juice sits at the centre of the table. Marmalade, jam and peanut butter sit by a stack of plates and the cuttlery has been set at each seat. Big coffee mugs have been stacked on the counter and the jug of milk is close to the edge. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter two_

_The smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts down the hallway as toast pops out of the toaster. The newspaper covers the kitchen table and a fresh jug of orange juice sits at the centre of the table. Marmalade, jam and peanut butter sit by a stack of plates and the cuttlery has been set at each seat. Big coffee mugs have been stacked on the counter and the jug of milk is close to the edge. Lilly is standing at the fridge, with some butter in her hand, lost in thought. _

_B/W Lilly: I loved it when my mum used to make Sunday breakfasts. She would let me help her make the pancakes. I'd crack the eggs into the big bowl and then I would stir everything together. Sometimes when I found it too hard, she would place her hand on top of mine and we would do the mixing together. _

_Rick wanders into the kitchen and lets out a laugh. _

_"Hey, sleeping beauty, wake up."_

_He taps her on her shoulder and her head snaps to the side._

_"Oh...what were you saying?"_

_"Never mind," Rick laughs and shakes his head. _

_Lilly takes out the butter and some eggs, places them on the counter and gets out a mixing bowl. _

_"I wish Grace still enjoyed cooking with me..."_

_Rick kisses Lilly on the forehead and walks over to the table to pour himself some coffee._

_"At least you've still got Zoe."_

_Lilly smiles slightly as she cracks the eggs into the bowl. _

_"What would we do without Zoe," she laughs._

_As she laughs, Jessie wanders into the kitchen and pours herself some juice. Jessie puts down her glass and grabs a piece of toast. _

_"I need a lift to school, I have study group for the french exam."_

_Rick puts his mug down and shakes his head._

_"Good morning Jessie. Yes, I did have a good nights sleep, how about you?"_

_Good morning Dad and Lilly," she mutters and rolls her eyes, "did you both sleep well?"_

_"Yes, Jessie, I did. Thanks for asking. And your father can take you to school."_

_Jessie nods her head in appreciation as she takes a bite of her toast. _

_"This french exam is going to be a killer," she moans. _

_"I have faith in you that you can do well," Rick encourages her. _

_Lilly starts to pour the pancake mixture into a frypan and hums to herself. Jessie and Rick sit in comfortable silence as they both eat their breakfast and read the paper. The smell of the frying butter wafts down the hallway as Eli and Grace both wander in. _

_"Great Grace, you're up. You can help me with the pancakes," Lilly beams. _

_Grace grumbles under her breath as she pours herself a big mug of coffee. Eli picks up a mug at the same time and their hands slightly touch. Eli pauses for a second but Grace completely ignores him. _

_B/W Lilly: I remember how Grace and I used to spend our weekends baking. She used to love making the icing and would let me lick the spoon. Usually kids would kill for the spoon, but that was my Gracey. Always thinking about others first. _

_Lilly flips a pancake onto a plate and hands it over to Eli. He considers offering it to Grace and starts to put the plate towards her, but reconsiders and dumps it onto the table. He notices the lemon juice on the other side of the table, placed close to Grace. _

_"Um Grace, can you pass the lemon juice?"_

_Grace finally acknowledges Eli, looks him straight in the eye and pushes the jug towards him. Eli smiles slightly and nods his head._

_"Thanks."_

_Jessie gets up from the table and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. Rick sighs and pushes the paper away. _

_"Right, I'll see you guys later. Need anything while I'm out, Lil?"_

_Lilly hands Grace a pancake and shakes her head. Rick places his hand on Jessie's shoulder and they start to head out. _

_"Bye!" Lilly yells and Rick and Jessie wave. _

_"Well, I'm going to get ready. I'm taking Zoe to the hairdressers. There's pancake batter next to the stove if you want some more, guys,"_

_Lilly places pancakes on both Eli and Grace's plates and put the frypan in the sink. _

_"Grace, Eli, please clean up when you're done."_

_"Sure, Mum," Grace says as she takes a bite of her pancake. _

_"No problem," Eli replies as he nods his head. _

_Lilly leaves the kitchen and Eli and Grace sit in silence for a moment. _

_"Grace..."_

_"What is it, Eli? What do you want?"_

_"I...nothing. I don't want anything. I just want to say sorry for last night."_

_"You've got nothing to be sorry about," she states._

_Grace finishes her pancake and Eli sits there, sipping his coffee and staring at her. _

_"It's just...I don't want to leave things unfinished."_

_"There's nothing to finish. Nothing happened and nothing is going to happen. You made it perfectly clear last night."_

_Grace stands up and picks her plate up. _

_"You finished?" she asks as she picks Elis plate up. _

_"Yeah, sure."_

_Eli puts the radio on and they do the dishes in silence. _

_"You get me, Grace. You always have."_

_"Well, it's a pity you don't get me. If you did, you wouldn't play games with me. You would know that I hurt easily."_

_Eli nods his head._

_"And as I said, I'm sorry."_

_Grace sighs. _

_"I guess sorry isn't enough, is it?" he whispers and Grace shakes her head."_

_Eli turns up the radio and they continue to work in silence. _


End file.
